For artists, listening is the natural way to determine if their songs have the quality they desire. But what should you do if you’re still unsure?
This is where our Music Analysis Tool, created by us at Masterchannel, comes into play. Our Music Analysis Tool provides accurate feedback on LUFS levels, Peak Level, and EQ Balance, ensuring that you reach your intended goals. But why are these indicators important?
LUFS Levels indicate how “loud” your song is and are crucial when uploading to platforms like Spotify. If your song is too “loud,” Spotify and other services may reduce its volume, potentially affecting its quality.
Peak level reveals how loud your song is at specific moments. If it isn’t balanced with the rest of the song, it can lead to clipping, which is something you want to avoid.
EQ balance assesses how well-balanced your track is, serving as an indicator of how it will sound on various streaming platforms and audio systems.
The Music Analysis Tool by Masterchannel offers a transparent means of understanding how your song was engineered before mastering and the adjustments made by Masterchannel. The ultimate goal is to make it sound as exceptional as possible while ensuring it meets the criteria set by streaming platforms. This way, you can always have peace of mind knowing that your song will sound great, regardless of the platform or listening device.
If you manage a music platform, more than 50% of your users are likely struggling with their sound quality. With Masterchannel’s white-label AI mastering solution, you can help your users solve their sound issues with the click of a button, boosting user engagement and opening up a passive revenue stream on your platform.
What is Masterchannel?
Masterchannel has developed a leading AI service that can master/professionalize the sound of songs. The AI can turn any song into a professional sounding one with the click of a button.
Our technology has been praised by artists ranging from beginners to Grammy-Winners, and every month, Masterchannel’s AI masters songs for 10s of thousands of artists.
Through our white-labeling solution, any music platform can now provide their users with the opportunity to get their songs mastered in best-in class quality in just a couple of minutes.
What is the white labeling solution?
Illustration: amuse.io’s white labeling solution powered by Masterchannel
The white labeling solution by Masterchannel is the easiest way for your platform to increase customer satisfaction, retention and revenue.
Using our core-technology, we provide you with an embeddable mastering component that is tailored to your brand and style. This means that the solution will have the exact look and feel of your platform, while you don’t need to worry about any implementation details or development and infrastructure costs. All operations are performed on Masterchannel’s servers while feeling seamlessly integrated into your platform from a user perspective. For you, this means there are no development or infrastructure costs associated with Masterchannel’s mastering solution.
How to get your own AI mastering solution.
Integrating the Masterchannel white label solution into your platform is a simple process, with almost all of the work covered by Masterchannel:
You provide us with your design system/style guidelines for us to design the white label solution to fit your brand and platform.
We will implement your design system and provide you with an embeddable iFrame line of code containing all the mastering logic and user interface
You copy the one line of code into your platform
And you are ready to go live!
From start to finish this typically takes 1 to 3 working days.
What’s included in the AI mastering solution?
When we partner up with companies and provide them with their own white labeled AI mastering service, we think long term. This means that we will continuously improve the user experience together to maximize user engagement, conversion and retention. We will also help you with the following:
Full coverage of processing cost for the service, and full cost coverage for free previews*.
Payment processing
User support for your users related to the AI mastering service
Support for 14 languages
From start to finish, Masterchannel does the heavy lifting for you, so you can enjoy increased user engagement and an increase in revenue.
*Free previews are included so users can listen to the song before they decide to purchase.
Pricing & Payments
You are the one to set the price for the mastering service to meet your users’ budget. If you choose to let us process payments on your behalf, we will do a simple revenue split for each transaction, paid out to you on a monthly or quarterly basis.
What companies are using this solution?
Some of the leading distribution platforms & demo platforms worldwide are using our White Labeling solution to power their own AI mastering services. This include platforms like TuneCore, Symphonic, amuse, Groover,GYROstream, Revelator, Unchained and many more!
Get in touch!
If you want to learn more about how your company can benefit from adding AI mastering to your platform, don’t hesitate to reach out via email ‘support@masterchannel.ai’ or book a session with Christian from our team here:
So you have produced your song, mastered it, and now it sounds great. But what should you do next?
We know you as an artist spend countless hours crafting and perfecting your songs, so the world can hear your masterpiece. And we understand that good sound quality is important. That is the reason why we developed Masterchannel, so you can have an easy-to-use platform that makes your song sound professional in just a couple of minutes.
However, in order for the world to hear your creation you still need to get it out there. At this stage you’ll need to decide whether you want to pitch it to record labels or release it independently. Each option has its own advantages, and it ultimately depends on your goals and aspirations as an artist.
Pitching
If you choose to pitch your music to record labels, several excellent services can assist you in reaching out to industry professionals. These platforms specialize in connecting artists with record labels, increasing your chances of getting noticed. Here are three notable services worth considering:
Trackstack is a premier platform that enables artists to submit their music directly to a vast network of record labels, producers, and music supervisors. With its user-friendly interface and comprehensive submission tracking system, Trackstack streamlines the pitching process, giving you a higher chance of catching the attention of industry gatekeepers.
Groover provides a unique platform for artists to promote their music to a diverse range of music industry professionals. Through Groover, you can submit your songs directly to record labels, radio stations, playlist curators, and more. This service enhances your visibility and increases the chances of your music being discovered by key decision-makers.
Boost Collective is a platform that simplifies the submission process for artists seeking exposure. It allows you to submit your music to a variety of curated playlists. With Boost Collective you can also track the progress as you go, providing you with valuable insight.
Distribution
If you decide to release your music independently without the backing of an external record label, there are several reputable services available to help you distribute your music effectively. These services allow you to maintain full control over your music while reaching a global audience. Here are three noteworthy options to consider:
amuse Amuse is a user-friendly music distribution service that enables independent artists to release their music on major streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer. With Amuse, you retain 100% of your rights and royalties while benefiting from its intuitive analytics and transparent revenue reporting.
dig dis! (Digital Distribution) is a comprehensive music distribution service catering to independent labels, so if you are running your own label within the electronic genre this is a good place to start.
They offer global digital distribution to all major platforms, including streaming services, online stores, and social media platforms. dig dis! provides flexible pricing options, detailed reporting, and support for artists at all stages of their careers.
TuneCore is a trusted name in independent music distribution, empowering artists to distribute their music worldwide. With TuneCore, you can distribute your music to a wide range of platforms, including streaming services, online stores, and social media platforms. Additionally, TuneCore offers valuable features like publishing administration, promotional tools, and detailed sales analytics.
Ultimately, the decision to pitch your music to labels or release it independently is a personal one that depends on your artistic vision and career goals. Mastering your music with Masterchannel is an excellent first step toward achieving professional sound quality. But whichever path you choose, utilizing these services can greatly enhance your chances of success in the music industry.
And whatever you end up doing; remember to enjoy the process!
Masterchannel masters now take less than three minutes to complete, and they sound even better. Read more below to find out how we accomplished this technological milestone.
The Masterchannel team is thrilled to share some exciting news with you. Since our launch last year, we’ve been humbled by the recognition we’ve received as the world’s most reliable and best-sounding mastering AI. Our unique AI mastering approach, driven by reinforcement learning, ensures that each track is processed in a way that’s entirely unique — no two tracks are treated the same way.
Behind the scenes, producing such exceptional masters involves a multitude of complex mathematical operations. That’s why in the past, it took our AI around 7 minutes to complete the mastering of a track. However, we’ve been paying close attention to the needs of our professional customers who rely on Masterchannel in their studio sessions. They’ve expressed their desire for faster processing times to make their workflows more convenient.
We take customer feedback seriously, and we’re committed to delivering a product that meets their needs. That’s why we took a deep dive into our algorithms, leaving no mathematical equation and no line of code untouched, to explore every avenue for reducing processing time. After countless hours of fine-tuning, we’re incredibly proud to announce that Masterchannel now completes the mastering process in less than 3 minutes on average.
But that’s not all. Along this journey, we made significant improvements to our system, resulting in even better-sounding results. We went the extra mile to refine every aspect of the Masterchannel engine, striving to enhance audio quality with zero compromise. The outcome? Your tracks will now sound even more refined and captivating.
With this milestone achievement, Masterchannel solidifies its position as the leader in AI mastering. We’re committed to pushing the boundaries of audio production, constantly striving for excellence. Our mission is to provide you with a tool that not only saves you time but also empowers you to bring out the full potential of your music.
So, why wait? Experience the new and improved Masterchannel engine today. Join the growing community of satisfied customers who’ve entrusted their music to our platform, achieving outstanding results. We believe that the future of audio mastering is within your reach, and it’s faster and better than ever before.
Our CEO & Co-Founder Christian recently went to International Music Summit (IMS) in Ibiza to meet up with the international electronic music community. In the following we share his experience.
IMS is a conference hosted in Ibiza each year, and gathers some of the most important players within the electronic music scene. Being a part of this conference was very rewarding for me as the CEO, especially as AI and electronic music were this year’s hot topic.
During the conference I met up with several established and up-and-coming artists, independent labels and music technologies companies. The interest in what we’re building was great and I managed to have several good discussion on how our tech, and AI in general, will influence an industry that is becoming more and more aware of the opportunities within these technologies.
Attending the International Music Summit was an important step for Masterchannel, as it allowed the company to strengthen its relationships with industry professionals and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges artists are facing in the electronic music scene.
Going forward, the Masterchannel team will be present at several conferences, both as attendees and speakers.
Here’s a list of the places where you can meet us:
15th to 19th of May: Music Biz in Nashville
27th to 28th of May: Berlin Dance Music Event in Berlin
AI in music production is taking off, and there is one particular part of the production process where AI now can give you the edge you need as a producer: Mastering of your music.
Mastering is the final step in the production chain, where an engineer (or an AI) make sure that the song is balanced and optimized to be played back on a variety of speakers and devices. Typical tools used in this process are Equalization, Dynamics & Saturation and Stereo Imaging.
Here’s 5 AI mastering tools you should know about:
Masterchannel is a Norwegian service, co-founded by DJ and producer Matoma and audio engineer Simon Hestermann, and has been praised for its audio quality, which is similar to that of a human mastering engineer. The quality is provided due to the use of reinforcement learning, which mimics how a mastering engineer is working, in order to provide a service that is both agnostic to mood and genres.
Pros
Professional audio quality, similar to a human engineer; best mastering results on the list.
Unlimited downloads of mastered songs for only $25 / month or $15 / month (when yearly).
User-friendly and easy to understand what has been done.
Landr is a Canadian company that started out with AI mastering in 2014 and is the oldest company within this domain. Since its inception, the company has developed several new creator tools tailored towards artists.
Pros
Several creator tools that can help you in different aspects of your career.
Good price when going for the full suite and not only mastering.
Cons
Audio known to sound artificial compared to other services.
Expensive – mastering costs $39 / month.
For the more affordable subscriptions, number of WAV masters is limited.
eMastered is a company that both develops their mastering AI in addition to being the company behind the ATOM Synth. The company was one of the first mastering services out there.
Mixea is a mastering service created by the distribution company Distrokid, and is the newest one to be added to the list. Distrokid is a New York based company that has been operating since 2013.
Pros
Unlimited number of mastered songs.
Cheap solution if you have a frequent output.
Cons
Less flexible pricing, as you need to pay for a full year.
Audio known to sound artificial compared to other services.
Bandlab is a Singapore based company creating several tools to use when making music. The company started as a social network and has gone on to explore several parts of the industry.
Pros
You don’t need an account to master your songs
A free service that can be good for beginners.
Cons
The audio quality is very limited compared to other services
The presets does not tackle on of the main problems with mastering, which is dynamic sound across devices.
Conclusion
While each of these services are good in their respective way, Masterchannel.ai is easily the best service on this list for music mastering. Whilst other services can be cheaper if you commit to a yearly subscription (some are even free): If you care about the end result of your tracks, choose Masterchannel.
This month we are rolling out the biggest update since the launch of Masterchannel: Version 2.0 of our highly praised mastering engine! Thanks to the feedback from our amazing user base and Poweruser community, we were able to implement massive improvements in all areas that make your music stand out:
Dynamics: The overall master dynamics are even more tailored to the flow of your tracks. Transients in your masters will also cut through better thanks to our new Dynamics intelligence engine.
EQing: Your masters will sound even clearer and impactful thanks to our new EQ intelligence engine.
Delivery time: We were able to cut down on the processing time of your masters for you to get your music back even quicker.
As always, we are looking forward to hearing your feedback on the latest changes and we cannot wait to hear your new music in pristine Masterchannel quality.
The Covid-19 pandemic did perhaps not change the rule book for innovation entirely, but it certainly connected us faster than ever online. Simon Hestermann became a popular mastering engineer while studying informatics. The sheer volume of requests for mastering was overwhelming and meant he could not prioritise all.
This sparked an idea of creating a service that could lower the barrier for artists getting their songs professionally mastered. And so he began programming the start of what later became Masterchannel. Close friends in the music community were allowed in to test and provide feedback.
MEANWHILE IN NORWAY
In parallel, Christian Ringstad Schultz laid the finishing touches to some tracks, reaching out into his network for recommendations for great mastering engineers.
Through fellow online friends he got in touch with Simon, who then revealed to him the first iteration of Masterchannel – back then labelled Masterbus. Christian got to test it out on the music most familiar to him and give his opinions in return.
The first interaction of the two founders, Simon Hestermann & Christian Ringstad Schultz
ZOOM IN
Zoom calls came with a low barrier all by a sudden and the two decided to hook up to discuss plans for the future. The immediate plan was to continue the discussion on weekly calls commencing September 2020.
The next six months brought many revisions of the product, tapping into the music enterprise network and incorporating the company. In April 2021, then Masterbus.ai participated at 657 Academy and started pitching to the first investors.
Still, it would take 5 more months until they met in person for the very first time.
THE ALCHEMY OF PEOPLE & INVESTMENT
Approaching summertime, things really were put in motion. The growing interest from StartupLab surfaced and eventually led to them being the first investor. Shortly after, conversation began with Andrew Jackson, Matoma’s manager. I did not take long to hit the same notes and by August, Matoma joined as co-founder of now rebranded Masterchannel.
As a budding PhD at the University of Oslo, Christian suddenly found himself having to switch lanes as the growing interest in the company drew him to take on a full-time position. Simon, on the other side of the North-Sea, finished his master degree at King’s College London in September and started packing his things for a move to Oslo.
At the end of September, Masterchannel raised 3MNOK from 7 investors. The investor team was led by StartupLab, and included angel investors Sindre Haaland, Marius Ekerholt, Jonas Andersen, Chris Moen, Adam Scheuring and the eminent artist Ane Brun.
As November 2021 began, the founding team finally met for the first time as Simon landed at Oslo Gardermoen Airport, embarking on this new adventure. Mastering the birth of a new company.
